Big table, Big ideas

Tis the season for family, joy and if you’re us, projects! My husband and I are doers. We always have a list of projects in our queue and having a little bit of time off from work allows us to tackle a few of these. Our current “big” project at our house is our studio remodel. The current state is studs and raw concrete. We are hoping to stain and seal the concrete in the coming week and throw up a wall. That will make us feel like we are making some progress! So in the spirit of getting sh!t done, here is a mini project we worked on for one of our clients to inspire all you doers out there!

The dilemma……

Our clients needed a table that would be big enough for meetings, social gatherings and the occasional rap session. The problem is that tables of that size and caliber can be very expensive. Taking into consideration that our clients were paying for the remodel of the space and the complete furnishings and accessories, we were very budget conscious.

The solution……

I designed a custom table made out of steel table legs and a white oak plywood top. The steel table legs I sourced from a local metal fabricator in San Antonio. I sent over the design for the legs and he was able to fabricate and deliver to me in a just a few weeks, along with a pair of table legs for our personal use as well. Quick learning lesson here. Have your fabricator pre-drill the holes for the fasteners. This ensures a super quick installation. From there, I skipped over to a lumber store and grabbed a 4’x8’ sheet of white oak plywood. I then went through the process of sealing the table. Sand, seal, sand, seal, sand, seal and done!

I love the process of woodworking because it is such a process!

Installation…….

Due to the size, the table was installed in the space. We drilled holes in the flat plate of the table legs and then fastened a 2x4 between the plywood and steel legs. The plywood is only 3/4” thick, so adding the thickness of the 2x4 ensures that the table legs were secure. I also added a 1x4 apron across the front and the back of the table so that the additional 2x4s were not seen and for additional stabitility. If I did this all over again, I would do something a little smaller for the aprons, perhaps a 1x3. Then we flipped it and bam! Awesome gigantic worksurface!

This is a great solution for anyone that needs a big worksurface for a community work table, craft table or maybe even a huge dining room table, depending on your aesthetics. Cost to the end user was under $500. Another bonus for our clients is that those steel legs will last for-ev-er. If they move to a new office space, they can break down their table and resize the table top to something smaller.

I absolutely love how it turned out. And the best part is, the clients love it too! We will be adding a large rectangular grommet in the center of the table. This will offer cord management solutions for computer and table lamp cords.

So here is to all the future rap sessions out there! May they be the makings of our future!

Stay True and Happy Holidays!

Allyson